So much of what is commonplace today was once considered impossible, or at least wishful thinking. Laser beams in the operating room, cars with built-in guidance systems, cell phones with email access. There's just no getting around the fact that technology always has, and always will be, very cool.But technology isn't only cool; it's also very smart. That's why one of the hottest technological trends nowadays is the creation of smart homes.At an increasing rate, people are turning their homes into state-of-the-art machines, complete with more switches, sensors, and actuators than you can shake a stick at. Whether you want to equip your home with motion detectors for added security, install computer-controlled lights for optimum convenience, or even mount an in-home web cam or two purely for entertainment, the world is now your oyster. Ah, but like anything highly technical, creating a smart home is typically easier said than done.Thankfully, Smart Home Hacks takes the guesswork out of the process. Through a seemingly unending array of valuable tips, tools, and techniques, Smart Home Hacks explains in clear detail how to use Mac, Windows, or Linux to achieve the automated home of your dreams. In no time, you'll learn how to turn a loose collection of sensors and switches into a well-automated and well-functioning home no matter what your technical level may be.Smart Home Hacks covers a litany of stand-alone and integrated smart home solutions designed to enhance safety, comfort, and convenience in new and existing homes. Kitchens, bedrooms, home offices, living rooms, and even bathrooms are all candidates for smart automation and therefore are all addressed in Smart Home Hacks.Intelligently written by engineering guru and George Jetson wannabe, Gordon Meyer, Smart Home Hacks leaves no stone unturned. From what to purchase to how to use your remote control, it's the ultimate guide to understanding and implementing complete or partial home automation.

Chapter 1 A Foot in the Front Door

Hacks 1–24

Know the X10 Address

Turn On a Light

Master Your Appliances

Send X10 Commands

Send X10 Commands Wirelessly

Keep Watch with Motion Detectors

Turn On the Lights When You Enter a Room

Turn On the Lights When They're Needed

Ring a Bell to Alert the House

Sense What's Happening

Control the Uncontrollable

Groom Your Home for X10

Set Addresses for Modules Without Dials

Increase the Spousal Approval Factor

Unplug Your Computer

Add a Brain to Your Smart Home

Get to Know XTension

Get to Know Indigo

Get to Know HomeSeer

Sync with the Sun

Choose the Right Controller

Maintain an X10 Library

Shop for Secret X10 Devices

Welcome to the State Machine

Chapter 2 Office

Hacks 25–36

Remember Important Events

Keep the Lights On While You Work

Know Who's Calling

Broadcast Announcements to the Whole House

Announce Events with Recorded Announcements

Send Pager Messages

Broadcast Messages on Your Home Network

Control Your Printer from Afar

Phone Your Home

Control Your Home with Phlink

Forward Phone Calls

Silence the House when You're on the Phone

Chapter 3 Kitchen and Bath

Hacks 37–46

Brew Your Morning Coffee

Detect the Beer Thief

Install a Kitchen Terminal

Install a Home TV Server

Control Your Heating Remotely

Monitor the Refrigerator Door

Heat the Toilet Seat

Detect Flooding

Monitor the Litter Box

Avoid Battery Memory Problems

Chapter 4 Bedroom

Hacks 47–53

Educate Your Alarm Clock

Put the House to Sleep for the Night

Lighting for Insomniacs

Adjust Lights as the Sun Rises

Simulate a Sunrise

Motorize Your Window Blinds

Outdo Big Ben

Chapter 5 Garage and Yard

Hacks 54–68

Monitor Your Driveway

Know If the Garage Door Is Open

Control Your Garage Door

Control Your Home from Your Car

See Through Walls

Use Indoor Modules in the Great Outdoors

Control Outdoor Lighting

Track Fuel Consumption

Know When the Mail Arrives

Mow the Lawn

Get the Weather

Safely Water the Garden

Foster Green Pastures with a Smart Sprinkler System

Stop Watering During Rainstorms

Adapt Sprinkler Schedules and Solar Water Heating to Available Sunlight

Gordon Meyer

Gordon Meyer is a Chicago-based writer and speaker who has authored dozens of software manuals, numerous articles for Macintosh users and technical writers, and Smart Home Hacks, a leading book on do-it-yourself home automation techniques.

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The tool on the cover of Smart Home Hacks is a key ring of skeleton keys. A skeleton key is an old-fashioned key used in warded locks. Warded locks, first developed by the ancient Romans, consisted of concentric plates protruding outwards to block the rotation of the inner mechanism. When the correct skeleton key was inserted into the maze of wards, with slots to correspond to the protrusion in the locks, the key rotated freely in the lock, causing it to press against the latch or bolt and open what was locked. When warded locks and skeleton keys were in vogue, a well-designed skeleton key opened a wide variety of locks. Based on that fact, many believed a specially cut skeleton key existed that could open any lock, but it proved to be a myth.Today, skeleton keys are a popular collectable, and when worn around the neck or carried as an amulet, skeleton keys are believed to open the doors of opportunity and success. Marlowe Shaeffer was the production editor and proofreader for Smart Home Hacks, and Audrey Doyle was the copyeditor. Matt Hutchinson and Mary Anne Weeks Mayo provided quality control. Johnna Dinse wrote the index.Hanna Dyer designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a photograph from photos.com. Clay Fernald produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's Helvetica Neue and ITC Garamond fonts.Melanie Wang designed the interior layout, based on a series design by David Futato. This book was converted by Julie Hawks to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Helvetica Neue Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. This colophon was written by Reg Aubry.

The author covers HA from the prospective of the MAC, OSX, XTension HA software and mostly X10 but don't hold that against him as it's not the goal of the book. I treated this book as more of an idea book and almost all the ideas are portable to other scriptable/extendable software. It's for those of us who have a little imagination, some programming experience and the willingness to put a little effort into programming. It is in no way a recipe book where you follow the directions step by step to build a project. I really like the book and I really find it perfect for bathroom reading (you can read a section pretty quick to get your ideas). :-)